Five years after SOX, business as usual for auditors

For the first time since the U.S. Sarbanes-Oxley Act [SOX] went into effect in 2002, a growing number of internal audit departments are returning to business as usual, according to a new survey by Protiviti Inc.
Protiviti is a provider of independent risk consulting and internal audit services. Its survey was conducted from October 2006 through January 2007, when the first wave of companies reached Year 3 of Sarbanes-Oxley compliance.
Having been consumed with Sarbanes-Oxley compliance projects for the past four years, 24% of companies report their internal audit departments have achieved rebalancing a renewed focus on their traditional responsibilities that is balanced with compliance activities, the Protiviti survey found. This number is more than double the response (10%) from a similar survey conducted in 2005 by Protiviti.
The results of Protiviti’s second internal audit rebalancing study are detailed in its report, “Moving Internal Audit Back Into Balance.”
Among the key findings of Protiviti’s survey: Nearly half of internal auditors polled 47% cited “being able to perform more traditional audits” as the top benefit derived from rebalancing.
This result was greater than the combined response for the next three benefits, including “more appropriate coverage of risk,” which was the top-ranked benefit in the previous survey.
“This is a strong indicator that after more than three years of Sarbanes-Oxley compliance, internal auditors are ready for and recognize a need for the internal audit function to get back to basics,” Protiviti managing director Bob Hirth said in a press release.